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Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

Provision of water services: operational matters - Charges for water services

99: Charging order in favour of owner paying water services charges

You could also call this:

"Getting back extra water bill money you paid for Māori land you own with others"

Illustration for Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025

If you own Māori freehold land with others and you pay more than your share of the water services charges, you can ask the Māori Land Court for a charging order. This order would be against the land for the extra amount you paid. The court will make this order if they are satisfied you paid more than your share.

The Māori Land Court can only make this order if they are satisfied that the water organisation tried to get the payment from the trustees or the person who should pay. If the person who should pay is liable because of section 96(7), the court needs to know that the water organisation tried to recover the payment from them. This means the water organisation must have taken the person to court to get the payment, but was unable to get it.

If you are using the land, you cannot ask for a charging order, as stated in section 96(7). You can find more information about this by looking at the relevant law. The Māori Land Court's decision is based on the details of your case.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1446516.

Topics:
Māori affairs > Māori landEnvironment and resources > Food and water safetyHousing and property > Land use
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98: Limitation on trustee liability for water services charges, or

"Trustees only pay water bills from land income, not their own money"

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100: Water services charges are debt, or

"Not paying your water bill means you owe money to the water organisation"

Part 3Provision of water services: operational matters
Charges for water services

99Charging order in favour of owner paying water services charges

  1. An owner of Māori freehold land in multiple ownership who has paid the water services charges on that land may apply to the Māori Land Court for a charging order against the land for the excess amount of water services charges paid by that owner.

  2. In this section, excess amount, in relation to an owner, means the amount paid by an owner in excess of the water services charges properly apportionable to that owner’s interest in the land.

  3. The Māori Land Court may make a charging order in favour of that owner for the excess amount if the court is satisfied that the amount paid by the owner is an excess amount.

  4. Despite subsections (1) to (3), the court may make an order only if it is satisfied,—

  5. if the land is vested in trustees, that the water organisation has taken all reasonable steps to obtain payment of the water services charges from the trustees; or
    1. if a person is liable to pay the water services charges because section 96(7) applies, that—
      1. the water organisation has taken proceedings against that person to recover judgment for the amount of the water services charges, or an appropriate portion of the charges, and has been unable to recover the amount of the judgment; or
        1. having regard to all the circumstances of the case, those proceedings are unlikely to result in the rates being recovered.

        2. Subsection (1) does not apply to an owner who is actually using the land, as provided in section 96(7).

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